54 of 99 LI districts show increase in graduation rates

Graduation rates for the Class of 2021 on Long Island rose to more than 92% last year, with thousands of students exempted from some Regents exams due to COVID-19 disruptions, state officials announced Wednesday.

A total of 54 Island districts out of 99 with high schools showed at least slight increases, the state reported.

Overall, the share of 12th graders earning diplomas in the Nassau-Suffolk region improved by nearly a percentage point, from 91.5% the previous year. The great majority of students completed high school on time in June, while others graduated in August.

The proportion of Island students obtaining advanced diplomas, signifying completion of upper-level courses such as physics and geometry, rose to 61.5% in 2021, compared with 58.4% the prior year. Rising figures reflect a statewide trend that has stretched over the past decade, in normal years as well as more recent times affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

State education authorities, who released statewide graduation figures Wednesday, noted that students were granted widespread exemptions from taking Regents exams during the pandemic and that it affected the outcome. On the Island 27,858 graduates out of 33,538 were exempted from one or more Regents exams due to COVID-19 disruptions.

Local district officials praised teachers and other staff for providing continuity during months marked by school closures due to health hazards.

"I think it's a tribute to the heroic efforts of staff in a very difficult time of our lives," said Lorna Lewis, superintendent of Malverne schools and a past president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents. "They rose to the occasion."

The 6,500-student Hempstead district, where graduation rates once fell below 50%, has now maintained rates above 70% two years in a row.

"Congratulations Class of 2021 — you have made us proud!" said Superintendent Regina Armstrong.

Statewide, graduation rates for the high school Class of 2021 rose to 86.1% — up 1.3 percentage points from the previous year, the education department reported. Those rates statewide have improved by a total 9.4 points over the past decade, the agency added.

Education officials noted, however, that there are broad inequities in statewide graduation numbers by race and ethnicity. A full 90.4% of white students obtained diplomas in 2021, compared with 80.3% of Black students and 80.2% of Hispanic students.

"We know educational opportunities are not equally available to all students," said Lester W. Young Jr., chancellor of the state's Board of Regents, in a statement. "Every student can succeed when given the support to do so."

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa noted that the Regents and their staff in the education department are reviewing the state's graduation requirements "to allow students multiple ways to demonstrate they have the knowledge and skills to graduate."

Last year’s graduates dealt with more than a year of pandemic-driven masking, remote instruction and quarantines.

"We had an even split between people who thought they lost out a lot, and those who made the best of the situation," said Dylan Pigott, 19, a graduate of Baldwin High School who is now studying economics at Harvard University.

Regents exams, until their cancellation, had been required for obtaining diplomas.

The exams were first called off in June 2020, following mass shutdowns of schools across the state. That was quickly followed by cancellations in August, and again in January 2021.

Exams resumed last June, under orders from the Biden administration. But this round was limited to minimum federal testing requirements in English, algebra and basic science. Regents exams in advanced math and science were not administered that month, and neither were tests in Global History and U.S. History and Government.

Social studies educators worry that the two history exams, which are not required by federal law, might eventually be scrapped altogether.

"Nobody that graduated from high school in the last two years has taken a Regents history exam — that’s quite a lot," said Jay Corcoran, chairman of social studies at Walt Whitman High School in the South Huntington district.

Corcoran also serves on the board of the Long Island Council of the Social Studies. He and other educational leaders said they understood the concerns over health risks and other factors that led to temporary suspension of exams.

Still, many voice concern that students could be graduating without the knowledge and skills expected upon completing high school.

"Students were home, they could fall asleep and you really didn't know how much they were learning," Corcoran said.

Gloria Sesso, a retired school administrator on the Island and co-president of the social-studies council, agreed.

"There was no standardized measure for what students learned or didn’t learn," she said. "You can be easily manipulated if you don’t know your history and geography. It’s scary almost."

The state Education Department has tentatively scheduled a full round of Regents testing, including history exams, during seven days in June. However, the department has not yet announced whether planned testing will proceed.

Rosa said during a news conference Wednesday that tests were expected "right now" but did not elaborate.

By John Hildebrand

john.hildebrand@newsday.com,michael.ebert@newsday.com@johnhnewsday,

John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.